Fred Astaire
American dancer, actor, and singer (1899-1987) · United States · Actors · Died at 88
Fred Astaire is read about 3,533 times a day, in 92 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He made dancing on film look like thought made visible - weightless, precise, impossible. For decades the mere promise of watching Fred Astaire move was enough to fill theaters.
A life in dates
Ghost StoryFilm, 1981Ricky Hawthorne1978“Oh, there's no such thing as my favorite performance. I can't sit here today and look back, and say, Top Hat was better than Easter Parade or any of the others.”In their wordsOctober 1978Fred Astaire, interviewed by Dan Navarro for American Classic Screen Magazine, September/October 1978.“I have had to do most of my choreography. I would say most of it, with help from various choreographers I have worked with.”In their words31 July 1978Fred Astaire in "Reminiscences of Fred Astaire", Interview with Ronald L. Davis, Beverly Hills, July 31, 1978, SMU Oral History Project onKennedy Center HonorsAward
Battlestar GalacticaSeries, 1978Chameleon / Captain Dimitri1976BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleAward1974
That's Entertainment!Film1973
The American Film Institute Salute to ...Series1970
Santa Claus Is Comin' to TownFilm, S.D. Kluger (voice)1968
It Takes a ThiefSeries, Alister Mundy1963Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler TheatreSeries, Fred Addams1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonSeries
The Notorious LandladyFilm, 1962Franklyn Ambruster1961Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music ProgramAward1960Star on Hollywood Walk of FameAward1959“I have no desire to prove anything by it. I have never used it as an outlet or a means of expressing myself. I just dance.”In their wordsfrom Astaire's autobiography Steps in Time, 1959, p. 325.Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a MovieAward, 1959Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety SeriesAward1956
CinépanoramaSeries1955
Daddy Long LegsFilm, Jervis Pendleton III1953
General Electric TheaterSeries, J. Willingham Bardley1951
Royal WeddingFilm, Tom Bowen1949Academy Honorary AwardAward
The Emmy AwardsSeries, 1949
The Barkleys of BroadwayFilm, 1949Josh Barkley1946“There comes a day when people begin to say, 'Why doesn't that old duffer retire?' I want to get out while they're still saying Astaire is a hell of a dancer.”In their words14 October 1946Fred Astaire in Time. "The New Pictures: 'Blue Skies'". October 14, 1946, p. 103. (M).
Blue SkiesFilm, 1946Jed Potter1945“A four wood I hit on the 13th hole at Bel Air Country Club in June of 1945. It landed right on the green and rolled into the cup for a hole in one.”In their wordsFred Astaire on his proudest achievement in Lewis, Jerry D. "Interview : Fred Astaire." Glendale Federal Magazine, Summer 1982, pp. 8-10.1944
Golden Globe AwardsSeries1942
Holiday InnFilm, Ted Hanover1940
Broadway Melody of 1940Film, Johnny Brett1938
CarefreeFilm, Tony Flagg1935
RobertaFilm, Huck Haines1934“What's all this talk about me being teamed with Ginger Rogers?”In their words9 February 1934Fred Astaire in a letter to his agent Leland Hayward dated February 9, 1934. He went on to make a further nine musical films with Rogers.1933
Dancing LadyFilm, Fred Astaire1899Born10 May 1899Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
Astaire singing in Second Chorus
1929 Rolls Royce Phantom I Hooper Towncar - fvr
1929 Rolls Royce Phantom I Hooper Towncar - int 4630473666
1929 Rolls Royce Phantom I Hooper Towncar - intR 4630473736
1929 Rolls Royce Phantom I Hooper Towncar - rvl
Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, IBM, New York Amsterdam News 1977 12 24 pg43
Fascinating Rhythm Fred Astaire label.jpg?width=1200)
Filming Spielbergs "1941" (4971527550)In their own words 10
, Oh, there's no such thing as my favorite performance. I can't sit here today and look back, and say, Top Hat was better than Easter Parade or any of the others.
I have had to do most of my choreography. I would say most of it, with help from various choreographers I have worked with.
I have no desire to prove anything by it. I have never used it as an outlet or a means of expressing myself. I just dance.
Listen
SpotifyFilmography 40
TIThat's Entertainment! III
TDThat's Dancing!GSGhost Story
TTThe Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town
TTThe Purple Taxi
TIThat's Entertainment, Part II
TIThe Towering InfernoTEThat's Entertainment!
IMImagineSTSanta Claus Is Comin' to Town
FRFinian's RainbowTLThe Notorious Landlady
OBOn the Beach
FFFunny Face
SSSilk StockingsDLDaddy Long Legs
TWThe Band WagonRWRoyal Wedding
TWThree Little WordsTBThe Barkleys of Broadway
EPEaster ParadeBSBlue Skies
ZFZiegfeld Follies
TLThe Sky's the LimitHIHoliday Inn
YLYou Were Never Lovelier
YRYou'll Never Get Rich
SCSecond ChorusBOBroadway Melody of 1940
TCThe Story of Vernon and Irene CastleCACarefree
SDShall We Dance
ADA Damsel in Distress
STSwing Time
FFFollow the Fleet
THTop HatRORoberta
TDThe Gay Divorcee
FRFlying Down to RioDLDancing Lady138 credits on file
Television 24
TPTalking Pictures
PAParkinsonBGBattlestar Galactica
THThe Kennedy Center Honors
DIDinah!TTThe American Film Institute Salute to ...
TSThe Dick Cavett ShowITIt Takes a Thief
OMOmnibusTCThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TSThe Mike Douglas Show
DKDr. Kildare
APAlcoa Premiere
TSThe Steve Allen ShowCICinépanorama
MPMGM Parade
TOThe OscarsGTGeneral Electric Theater
WLWhat's My Line?TAThe Emmy Awards
TSThe Ed Sullivan ShowGAGolden Globe AwardsAwards
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Born Frederick Austerlitz in 1899, Astaire drew from tap, classical technique, and the Castles' elevated style to forge what he called "outlaw style" - an instinctive, unpredictable approach that redefined American ballroom dance. His partnership with Ginger Rogers produced ten musicals during Hollywood's golden age, including Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936), and Shall We Dance (1937). He continued through Holiday Inn (1942), Easter Parade (1948), The Band Wagon (1953), and into the late fifties with Funny Face and Silk Stockings. In 1974 he earned his only competitive Oscar nomination for The Towering Inferno, a disaster film, and won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for the role. He collected an Honorary Academy Award in 1950, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him fifth among the greatest male stars in cinema history. Seventy-six years, start to finish.
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